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Year of the Locust

A Soldier's Diary and the Erasure of Palestine's Ottoman Past

Salim Tamari author Ihsan Salih Turjman author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of California Press

Published:25th Sep '15

Should be back in stock very soon

Year of the Locust cover

Year of the Locust captures in page-turning detail the end of the Ottoman world and a pivotal moment in Palestinian history. In the diaries of Ihsan Hasan al-Turjman (1893-1917), the first ordinary recruit to describe World War I from the Arab side, we follow the misadventures of an Ottoman soldier stationed in Jerusalem. There he occupied himself by dreaming about his future and using family connections to avoid being sent to the Suez. His diaries draw a unique picture of daily life in the besieged city, bringing into sharp focus its communitarian alleys and obliterated neighborhoods, the ongoing political debates, and, most vividly, the voices from its streets - soldiers, peddlers, prostitutes, and vagabonds. Salim Tamari's indispensable introduction places the diary in its local, regional, and imperial contexts while deftly revising conventional wisdom on the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

"A must-read for both researchers and the general reading public." This Week In Palestine "A major contribution to the field of social and cultural history of twentieth-century Palestine." Arab Studies Journal "Impressively thoughtful, layered, and well-documented... A precise and well-done history." -- Farid M. Al-Salim Middle East Journal "The value and significance of the volume ... is without question... The writing is compelling and engaging... [An] artful, smooth translation." -- Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University Jrnl Of Palestine Studies "An unparalleled window into everyday life in [Jerusalem during the First World War]." -- William Armstrong Hurriyet Daily News

ISBN: 9780520287501

Dimensions: 210mm x 140mm x 15mm

Weight: 272g

208 pages